Crab coring machine



July 2, 1968 c. B. TOLLEY CRAB CORING MACHINE ZSheets-Sheet 1 INVEN'IOR Calvert B. Talley Filed June 24, 1966 ATTORNEYS July 2,-1968 c. B. TOLLEY 3,390,423

CRAB CORING MACHINE Filed June 24, 1966 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Calvert B. Talley BY 9 W,

United States Patent 3,390,423 CRAB CORING MACHINE Calvert B. Tolley, Wingate, Md. 21675 Filed June 24, 1966, Ser. No. 560,187 6 Claims. (Cl. 17-2) This invention relates generally to an improved crab coring machine for automatically severing from a crab body a meat-containing central core portion the size of which corresponds with the back fin width of the crab, and more particularly to a machine including means for locking the adjustable sections of knife and/ or anvil means in a back fin width responsive condition immediately prior to, and during, the core severing operation. The improved machine further includes loading station means for automatically opening temporarily that one of the knife or anvil means upon which the crab body is mounted for transport to a core severing station.

In my prior US. patent application Ser. No. 381,010 filed July 8, 1964 and entitled Apparatus for Cutting the Body of a Crab, a machine is disclosed in which cooperating knife and anvil means are provided for severing from the crab body a central core portion the size of which corresponds with the back fin width of the crab. Use is made of cooperating knife and anvil cutting means each including a pair of sections that are laterally adjustable to vary the effective size of said cutting means. Pin means are provided for mounting the crab body upon one of said knife and anvil means and for varying the effective size thereof in accordance with the back fin width of the crab.

The prior apparatus has proven to be extremely efficient and economical in operation, and commercially desirable for use in the crab processing industry. In continuing efforts to further increase the productivity of the apparatus, it has been found that the major factors preventing an increase of the operating speed of the ma chine are the difficulty in initially mounting the crab body on one of the adjustable knife and anvil means, and the problem of efficiently and rapidly adjusting the other of the said means in accordance with size of the crab body as the knife and anvil means are progressively brought together in core severing cooperation. A further consideration is the accurate severing of the crab core in such a manner as to prevent crushing of the shell and the accompanying formation of particles in the severed core portion. The present invention was developed to eliminate the above problems and to provide a machine of greatly increased productivity.

The primary object of the present invention is to provide improved crab coring means for locking the separable sections of knife or anvil means after the sections have been adjusted in accordance with the back fin width of a crab body mounted thereon. The sections are locked in the fixed position not only during the corresponding adjustment of the sections of the other cutting means, but also during the period when the knife and anvil means are brought into cooperating crab cutting engagement. As a consequence of the improved construction, a more precisely severed core is obtained, and crushing of the shell and the presence of shell particles in the severed core are avoided.

Another object of the invention is to provide crab coring apparatus including a loading station at which the spring-biased sections of one of the anvil and knife means are automatically temporarily opened to facilitate the mounting of the crab body upon the mounting pin means associated therewith. During subsequent travel of the said one means from the loading station to the cutting station, the sections are permitted to come together until the mounting pins engage the opposite sides of the back 3,390,423 Patented July 2, 1968 fin portion of the crab body and thereby adjust the sections to a position corresponding with the size of the crab. The sections are then locked by the aforementioned locking means during the adjustment of the sections of the companion cutting means and during the actual cutting operation.

According to a more specific object of the invention, the anvil and knife means are mounted in cooperating peripherally spaced relation upon coplanar oppositely-driven wheels having the same peripheral velocity. The aforementioned opening means comprise .a first stationary cam device arranged at the crab loading station adjacent the forward end of the frame, and the locking means comprise a second stationary cam arrangement adjacent the cutting station. The sections of that cutting means upon which the crab body is mounted comprise a first support secured to one of the wheels, and a spring-biased second support mounted on slide rods for lateral adjustment relative to said first support. Locking lever means pivotally mounted upon one of the slide rods are operable by the stationary locking cam to lock the second section in the crab size adjusted position relative to the first section. At the loading station, the second section is temporarily laterally displaced relative to the first section by the stationary opening cam means to permit manual mounting of the crab body upon the pin means associated therewith.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from a study of the following specification when viewed in conjunction with the accompanying patent drawing, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a diagrammatic side elevation view, with certain parts removed, of the improved crab coring machine;

FIGURES 2, 3 and 4 are detailed views taken along lines 22, 3-3 and 4-4 respectively, of FIGURE 1, with parts being omitted in FIGURE 4; and

FIGURES 5 and 6 are detailed sectional views taken along lines 55 and 66, respectively, of FIGURE 4.

Referring now to the drawing, the crab coring device includes a stationary rigid frame 2 which rotatably supports a pair of coplanar wheels 4, 6 that are secured to, and are driven oppositely at the same peripheral velocity by, a pair of intermeshing gears 8 and 10, respectively, which are driven by conventional motor means (not shown). Secured in peripherally spaced relationship on the wheel 6 are a plurality of sectional anvil means 12 that are adapted to cooperate in cutting engagement with a plurality of sectional knife means 14 that are similarly secured in peripherally spaced relation to the other wheel 4.

As shown in FIGURES 2-4, each of the anvil means 12 includes a stationary support 16 bolted to the wheel 6 and the gear 10, and a laterally shiftable support 18 that is slidably mounted upon a pair of slide rods 20 that extend normal from, and are secured at one end to, the wheel 6. Secured to the upper surface of the supports 16 and 18 at the adjacent edges thereof are a pair of anvil members 22, 24 which cooperate to define a variable-sized anvil the effective outer periphery of which corresponds with the relative lateral positions of the supports 16 and 18, as shown in FIGURES 2 and 3. Extending upwardly from the supports 16 and 18 are a pair of mounting pins 28, 26, respectively, that are adapted to extend between the back fins of a crab body (as shown schematically in FIGURE 3) to mount the body above the anvil members. Secured to the forward end of the outer side wall of the laterally shiftable support 18 is a vertical actuating plate 30 the upper and lower ends of which extend beyond the support as shown in FIGURE 2. The supports 16 and 18 are normally biased toward the closed (FIGURE 3) position by a spring 32 the ends of which are secured to support 18 and wheel 6, respectively.

As shown in FIGURE 2, the base portion of the support 18 has in transverse cross-section a U-shaped configuration defining a pair of depending legs 18a and 18b containing aligned bores that slidably receive the rods 20. Rotatably mounted on one of the rods 20 between fixed sleeves 21 is a locking lever 34 having at its bifurcated free end a cam follower roller 36, said lever 34 being gravity biased in the clockwise direction. The lever 34 has a cam surface 34a of such a configuration that when the lever is pivoted in the counterclockwise direction to the locked position illustrated in FIGURE 6, the cam surface 34a engages the lower surface 180 of support 18, thereby locking the support in place on rods 20, as will be described in greater detail below.

Each of the knife means 14 comprises a stationary support 46 bolted to wheel 4 and gear 8, and a laterally shiftable support 48 mounted for lateral sliding movement upon a pair of slide rods 50 the ends of which are secured to wheel 4. Secured to the outer side wall of support 48 is a vertical actuator member 54 having a bifurcated lower end adapted to receive the upper free end 30a of actuating plate 30 as shown in FIGURE 4. Supports 46 and 48 are biased together by the spring 56 the opposite ends of which are connected with wheel 4 and support 48, respectively. A light counterbalancing spring 58 connected between the upper end of member 54 and the downwardly depending extension of rod 50 applies to the support 48 a biasing force in such a direction as to prevent binding of the support on the rods 50 during the cutting operation.

The knife means further includes a pair of knife members 60, 62 secured to the lower faces of supports 46 and 48, respectively, at the adjacent edges thereof. As shown in FIGURE 5, the knife edges continuously define an effective U-shaped cutting edge containing a core receiving space. More particularly, knife 60 is generally L-shaped and has a right-angled portion 60a that extends over support 48 adjacent one edge of knife 62. Consequently as support 48 is shifted laterally with respect to knife 60, the two knives continuously cooperate to define therebetween a core-receiving space. Core ejector means 66 carried by radially-arranged, spring-biased rods 68 are mounted for sliding movement upon the side of wheel 4 for actuation by a stationary cam 70 (FIGURE 1) to eject the severed cores from the knife means. Stationary cam track 71 secured to frame 2 has a lateral cam surface arranged for engagement by follower projection 54a carried by movable support 48. During rotation of wheel 4, the cam and follower means displace support 48 away from the stationary support 46, thereby separating the knives 60 and 62 to assist in the ejection of the core.

Secured to the frame 2 at the forward end thereof is a stationary opening cam 72 having on the external side thereof a cam surface 72a (FIGURE 2) arranged for engagement by the lower end 301) of the actuating plate 30. The cam 72 serves to progressively open and close the supports 16 and 18 at the crab body mounting station 74 as the wheel 6 rotates in the counterclockwise direction, as shown. When the supports 16 and 18 are opened, the operator may manually mount a crab body upon the anvil means with the pins 26 and 28 extending between the back fins of the crab as shown in FIGURE 3, so that when the plate 30 becomes free of the cam 72 during continued rotation of the wheel 6, the supports are biased together by spring 32 to space position in which the spacing distance between the supports, and the effective anvil size, correspond with the back fin width of the crab.

Also secured to the frame 4 at a locking station 78 adjacent the point of cutting cooperation between anvil means 12 and knife means 14 is a locking cam 80 the forward end of which is pivotally connected with a rod 84 that is slidably guided in a bearing 88 secured to the frame. Spring 86 biases rod 84 upwardly, whereby cam 80 is biased in the clockwise direction relative to pivot 82. Cam has an upper cam surface 80a arranged for rolling engagement by cam follower roller 36, whereby during rotation of wheel 6 in the counterclockwise direction, lever 34 is pivoted in the counterclockwise direction by the cam 80 to effect locking engagement between cam surface 34a and support 18 as shown in FIGURE 6.

Endless conveyor 90 is arranged beneath wheel 4 to receive the meat containing central cores ejected from the space within the knife means 14 by the cam-operated ejector means 66, 68, and endless conveyor 92 is arranged beneath the cutting station 78 to receive the remaining portions of the crab body following severing of the central core therefrom.

Operation In operation, as a given anvil means 12 approaches the loading or cnab body mounting station 74, the supports 16 and 18 are laterally separated as a consequence of the cooperation between cam surface 72a and the surface 30b on actuating plate 30. The crab body is mounted upon the anvil means 12 by the pins 26, 28 as described above, whereby upon further travel of the wheel 6 to effect disengagement of the plate 30 from the cam 72, the supports 16 and 18 are partially closed by spring 32 to a position corresponding with the back fin width of the crab body. The crab body is carried by the pins 26, 28 as the wheel 6 rotates to transport the anvil means toward the cutting station.

As the anvil means, and the crab body carried thereby, approach the locking station 78, roller 36 engages the cam 80, whereby lever 34 is pivoted in the counterclockwise direction to cause locking engagement between cam surface 34a and the lower surface of support 18. The supports 16 and 18 are now locked in a fixed relationship in which the effective size of the anvil means 12 corresponds with the back fin width of the crab body.

During further movement of the anvil means 12 toward the corresponding knife means 14, the upper end 30a of the plate 30 engages the bifurcated end portion of member 54 to effect lateral separation of support 48 from support 46 a distance corresponding with the spacing distance of supports 16 and 18 (and, consequently, the back fin width of the particular crab body and the effective size of the anvil means 12). Thus, owing to the separation of supports 16 and 18, the size of the core-receiving space defined within the effective U-shaped knife edge of the knife means 14 is adjusted in accordance with the back fin width of the particular crab body. During the further rotation of wheels 4 and 6, the knife and anvil means cooperate to cut or punch out into the space contained within the knife means the meat containing central core portion of the crab body, the remaining scrap portions of the crab body being deposited by gravity upon the conveyor 92.

Upon further rotation of the wheels, support 48 is displaced away from support 46 by cam track 71, and the ejector means 66, 68 are operated by the stationary cam 70 to eject upon endless conveyor 90 the central core portion contained within the knife means. Since member 54 is no longer in engagement with plate 30, support 48 is laterally shifted to the closed position relative to support 46 by the biasing spring 56. Simultaneously, roller 36 disengages cam surface 80a, whereupon support 18 is unlocked and is returned to its original closed position relative to support 16 by spring 32.

While in accordance with the provisions of the patent statutes I have illustrated and described in the preferred form and embodiment of the invention, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that other changes and modifications may be made in the apparatus described without deviating from the invention set forth in the following claims.

What is claimed is:

1. Apparatus for severing from the body of a crab a meat-containing central core portion, comprising knife means including a pair of laterally adjustable knife members defining a core-receiving space;

anvil means including a pair of laterally adjustable anvil members relatively displaceable in a direction parallel with the direction of adjustment of said knife members, said anvil means having an eflective outer configuration corresponding generally with that of said core-receiving space; means for mounting a crab body upon one of said knife and anvil means with the longitudinal axis of the crab arranged normal to the direction of lateral displacement of the members thereof, said mounting means being operable to laterally adjust the members of said mounting means in spaced relationship corresponding with the back fin width of the crab body;

lock means for locking the members of said mounting means in said spaced relationship;

means for laterally adjusting the members of the other of said knife and anvil means in spaced relationship in accordance with the spaced relationship of the members of said mounting means; and

means for bringing together said knife and anvil means on opposite sides of the crab body to sever said central core therefrom.

2. Apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein one of the members of said mounting means is mounted upon a slide element for lateral displacement relative to the companion member, and further wherein said lock means comprises means for locking said one member to said slide element.

3. Apparatus as defined in claim 2 wherein said locking means comprises a locking lever pivotally mounted on said slide element for pivotal movement between normally unlocked and locked positions relative to said one member.

4. Apparatus as defined in claim 3 wherein said means of bringing together said knife and anvil means comprises a pair of oppositely driven coplanar wheels having the same peripheral velocity, said knife and anvil means being mounted on said wheels adjacent the peripheries thereof for mutual cooperation at a severing station to sever the central core from the crab body; and further including stationary locking cam means adjacent the severing station for pivoting said locking lever to the locked position prior to the lateral adjustment of the members of the other of said knife and anvil means; said locking cam means being operable to maintain the lever in the locked position during the crab core severing operation.

5. Apparatus as defined in claim 4 wherein said stationary locking cam means includes a cam plate contained in a plane parallel with said wheels, the forward end of said cam plate relative to the direction of travel of said associated pair of members being pivotally connected with a fixed support, and spring means biasing the other end of said plate into the path of travel of said locking lever.

6. Apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein said means for bringing together said knife and anvil means comprises a pair of oppositely driven coplanar wheels having the same peripheral velocity, said knife and anvil means being mounted on said wheels adjacent the peripheries thereof for mutual cooperation at a severing station to sever the central core from the crab body; and further wherein said crab mounting means includes a stationary opening cam for opening the members of said mounting means to facilitate mounting of the crab body on said one means.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,264,134 11/1941 Hawley 83345 2,771,631 11/1956 Hiller 172 3,143,022 8/1964 Andersen 83345 X 3,151,351 10/1964 Reinke 17-2 3,245,105 4/1966 Tolley 17-2 LUCIE H. LAU DENSLAGE-R, Primary Examiner. 

1. APPARATUS FOR SEVERING FROM THE BODY OF A CRAB A MEAT-CONTAINING CENTRAL CORE PORTION, COMPRISING KNIFE MEANS INCLUDING A PAIR OF LATERALLY ADJUSTABLE KNIFE MEMBERS DEFINING A CORE-RECEIVING SPACE; ANVIL MEANS INCLUDING A PAIR OF LATERALLY ADJUSTABLE ANVIL MEMBERS RELATIVELY DISPLACEABLE IN A DIRECTION PARALLEL WITH THE DIRECTION OF ADJUSTMENT OF SAID KNIFE MEMBERS, SAID ANVIL MEANS HAVING AN EFFECTIVE OUTER CONFIGURATION CORRESPONDING GENERALLY WITH THAT OF SAID CORE-RECEIVING SPACE; MEANS FOR MOUNTING A CRAB BODY UPON ONE OF SAID KNIFE AND ANVIL MEANS WITH THE LONGITUDINAL AXIS OF THE CRAB ARRANGED NORMAL TO THE DIRECTION OF LATERAL DISPLACEMENT OF THE MEMBERS THEREOF, SAID MOUNTING MEANS BEING OPERABLE TO LATERALLY ADJUST THE MEMBERS OF SAID MOUNTING MEANS IN SPACED RELATIONSHIP CORRESPONDING WITH THE BACK IN WIDTH OF THE CRAB BODY; LOCK MEANS FOR LOCKING THE MEMBERS OF SAID MOUNTING MEANS IN SAID SPACED RELATIONSHIP; MEANS FOR LATERALLY ADJUSTING THE MEMBERS OF THE OTHER OF SAID KNIFE AND ANVIL MEANS IN SPACED RELATIONSHIP IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE SPACED RELATIONSHIP OF THE MEMBERS OF SAID MOUNTING MEANS; AND MEANS FOR BRINGING TOGETHER SAID KNIFE AND ANVIL MEANS ON OPPOSITE SIDES OF THE CRAB BODY TO SEVER SAID CENTRAL CORE THEREFROM. 